S ING 1000988 Chapter3

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Noviyanti, 2015

Thematic progression in students recount texts

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter elaborates the method of this study. It covers four main aspects;

those are Research Design, Research Site and Participant, Data Collection, and

Data Analysis. First, research design discusses the method employed in this study.

Second, research site and participant explain the place where the study was

conducted and the participants involved in the study. Third, data collection

underlines on the technique used in collecting the data. Last, data analysis

enlightens the procedure of analyzing the data.

3.1. Research Design

In order to answer the research questions, a qualitative design was

employed. Based on the classification of research designs from Nunan (1992),

this research can be characterized as a qualitative study because in this study the

researcher created and investigated one of the outcomes of teaching learning

activities. The outcome is students’ recount text. In line with this, Auerbach and

Silverstein (2003, p. 3) further argued this study included into a qualitative design

as it analyzed and interpreted data in order to reveal how the students organize

their ideas in regard to thematic progressions in students’ recount texts and to

discover the contribution of thematic progressions on the cohesion and coherence

of the text.

In addition, this research also has similar characteristics to a case study.

Like a case study, a researcher is permitted to study in small and single case

through case study (Stake, 1994, p. 278, as cited in Emilia, 2005, p. 74). Duff

(2008, p. 22) also stated that this study also could be considered into a case study

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context, the availability of multiple sources of information or perspectives on

observations, and the in-depth nature of analysis. In this study the researcher

conducted the study in one of junior high school in Indramayu, West Java,

Indonesia. Students in one class of the junior high school were chosen to be

participants of this study.

Furthermore, this study used text analysis, which is another method of

qualitative case study (Travern, 2001; Freebody, 2003, as cited in Emilia, 2005, p.

74-75), using SFG, which provides a powerful analytical tool, and constitutes

“one of a variety of linguistic approaches that have been well developed in the

area of education” (Freebody, 2003, p. 185, as cited in Emilia, 2005, p. 74-75). It

was to present the development of the ideas of students’ recount text. The

thematic progressions, in which the texts develop the ideas they present (Fries,

1995, p. 320-323; Eggins, 1994; as cited in Emilia, 2014, p. 241).

3.2 Research Site and Participants

The focal point of this study was a class of eight grade students of one

public junior high school in Indramayu, West Java, Indonesia. It was chosen since

recount text material existed in eight grade English syllabus. In line with this,

Standard Competence (Standar Kompetensi) and Basic Competence (Kompetensi

Dasar) stated that eight grade students should comprehend social purpose,

schematic structure, and linguistic features of recount text in their daily context

(K.D. 6.2).

The participants of this study were 32 eight grade students on the second

semester. All students were classified into low-, middle-, and high achievers.

However, only six texts were analyzed that represented each level of

achievements. It is based on De Paulo’s statement (2000), the sample quality was

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3.3 Data Collection

The data collection technique used in this study was collecting students’

recount texts.

3.3.1 Collecting Students’ Recount Text

Students’ recount texts were collected at one stage: one shot. Those six

students were categorized into three achievement categories which were

determined by score of the student’s writing. The score of the students’ writing

products were determined by the English teacher. Therefore, there were three

categories; low-, middle-, and high achievers. Students who got 40-59 in writing

were categorized into low achievers, students who got 60-79 in writing were

categorized into middle achievers, and students who got 80-90 in writing were

categorized into high achievers. In terms of thematic progressions, categorizing

students into three achievements categories in analyzing recount text, it was

expected to give several advantages: it was easier for the researcher to attain more

informative data and it was expected to give greater comprehension of the context

based on prior knowledge (Duff, 2008, p. 116).

3.4 Data Analysis

In this study, the data analyses were divided into three phases: identify the

thematic progression patterns, determine the thematic progressions trends, and

examine the coherence and the cohesion of students’ recount texts.

3.4.1 Identification of Thematic Progressions Patterns

The researcher identified the thematic progressions patterns of those texts.

Thematic progressions are the way to know how the texts develop the ideas they

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p. 241). Besides, thematic progressions made to the cohesion and coherence of a

text (Eggins, 2004, p.324). In addition, through thematic progressions the

researcher can exploit word ordering option to highlight information structure

(Schleppegrell, 2004). In relation to them, there are three kinds of thematic

progressions: the zigzag pattern, the reiteration pattern, and the multiple theme

pattern (Emilia, 2014, p. 241).

3.4.2 Determining the Thematic Progressions Trends

In this section, the researcher summarized all thematic progressions trends

that frequently used by students in their recount text. To make it clearer, the

researcher evaluated the result of the analysis to the previous studies. It is to

discover whether there is a difference or not of the result of the thematic

progressions in this study.

Based on Theme choices in a text, thematic progressions (Fries, 1995, p.

320-323; Eggins, 1994, p. 303-305, as cited in Emilia, 2014, p. 241) can be

classified into three: the zigzag pattern, the reiteration pattern, and the multiple

theme pattern.

Below is an example of the zigzag pattern or a linear thematic progression

of Text 3 written by a student.

And (we) went to on “the Scenic Railway”

It was scary railway

It was scary

Below is an example of the reiteration thematic progression of Text 2

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We left home at 9 in the morning

Before we went to the gas station to buy fuel for automobiles

We filled the car full of fuel

because the journey to a fantasy world Ancol took about 5 hours

After filling the car full of fuel

We went to the fantasy world Ancol

3.4.3 Examining the Cohesion and Coherence

In this part, the researcher analyzed the cohesion and coherence of those

texts. Cohesion deals with devices that give a text texture. While it appear that

linguists have appropriated texture from the field of textiles along with terms like

ties, close knit, and weaving, in fact, text, texture, and textile all come from the

same Latin root meaning that is woven. So it is entirely appropriate for linguists to

talk about meanings being woven together and about lexical and grammatical ties

between clauses as cohesive devices. Thematic progressions from Theme to

Rheme are a structuralexpression of cohesion (Butt, et.al, p. 143).

Meanwhile, coherence refers to the elements internal to the text, consisting

of cohesion and register: “a text is a passage of discourse which is coherent in

these two regards: it is coherent with respect to the context of situation, and

therefore consistent in register; and it is coherent with respect to itself, and

therefore cohesive” (Halliday & Hasan, 1976, p. 23, as cited in Chen, p. 94).

Coherence, on the whole, is regarded as the link in a text that connects ideas and

makes the flow of thoughts meaningful and clear for readers (Castro, 2004, as

cited in Chen, p. 94). In other words, coherence accounts for the meaningful

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organization of information, or communicative purpose of the particular

discourse” (Kuo, 1995, p. 48, as cited in Chen, p. 94).

3.5 Concluding Remark

This chapter has presented the methodological facets of this study dealing

with research design, research site and participants, data collection and data